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The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

washingtonpost.com

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Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#61

Post by voiceblue »

idiotsecant wrote: post #53
TacticalCoder wrote: post #26

> Cheap ski equipment, Rolex watches All Rolex watches have serial numbers and there's an official database of stolen and lost rolexes. A police report should be filled and sent to an AD (authorized dealer). Knowing this allow righful owners to find their watches, selling found Rolex is... theft? FWIW when travelling the customs may ask you for the invoice of your fancy watch (I always have mine in my wallet).

The idea that customs might ask to see the invoice on your very fancy special watch sounds like watch company marketing to me. I've never even heard of that happening.

I can see it happening, similar things have happened to me with jewelry. Much more likely to happen if the place you are traveling from is known for selling that good, they want to confirm you don’t owe duty (usually you can get a receipt before you travel from customs that says you already had that item, if you don’t have the sales receipt).

It only really matters for very expensive things, they don’t usually bother pursuing anything unless it’ll be a big payday.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#62

Post by michaelmrose »

Sebguer wrote: post #8
drewcoo wrote: post #5

theft == bargain There are other places to purchase cheap stolen goods, too. But they're not backed by DHS . . .

Yes, indeed, fortunately if you actually read even the first line of the article you'd understand that this isn't talking about theft.

Riddle me this. How was it impossible to locate any of the owners for these?

https://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/collections/iphones

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#63

Post by WirelessGigabit »

cmenge wrote: post #39

After my luggage went missing for the first time recently, my key takeaways are: - If at all possible, avoid checked luggage - it's overpriced, slow and unreliable. No news to pro travellers I guess - Luggage reimbursement is capped at a relatively low figure that hasn't increased in decades (sources vary, jurisdiction unclear when international which just adds to the point). In any case, if you're traveling with a f…

Line drops could also come from your own provider. For example, Mint-Mobile kills the connection at one second after 59:59.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#64

Post by add-sub-mul-div »

danw1979 wrote: post #14

> “The airlines do a great job” at reuniting most lost bags, said Bryan Owens, the store’s second-generation owner and CEO. That is a very generous statement indeed.

The one time I ever had a lost bag it was found by the airline and delivered to my house 40 miles from the airport.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#67

Post by Guvante »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #37
Guvante wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If economists are to be believed that is inevitable. The only way to get true economic gains is by sacrificing something. I will say a lot of bargain hunters have difficulty framing their hobby in a way that properly reflects the time investment when describing to others...

Indeed, this follows from "efficient market hypothesis", "TANSTAAFL", etc. and probably has some more solid theoretical grounding too: if you're getting a good bargain, someone is getting screwed. Quite likely it's you. It may not seem like that to the bargain hunters, because they're being used indirectly (the bargain is there to get them into the store), longer-term (the bargain is there to form a habit), or stocha…

You don't need anyone to get screwed.

That only applies if finding a buyer is free which it objectively is not.

Sometimes the effort to offload something for its value is more than that value.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#68

Post by justinclift »

mindslight wrote: post #56
9dev wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if during boarding, you walked through the cargo compartment of the plane yourself, which consists of huge lockers you can store your baggage in, then proceed to the seating area?

Do you know how the plane walls near the floor start to come back in? That is because the passenger floor is well in the bottom half of the tube. The photos I've seen of baggage handlers have them working on their knees or sitting on the sloping floor.

This shows the process: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hjV8xRdmzp4

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#69

Post by teapot7 »

JCharante wrote: post #43
drewcoo wrote: post #5

theft == bargain There are other places to purchase cheap stolen goods, too. But they're not backed by DHS . . .

Well you won’t find apple devices being sold there. Because apple cares about its customers.

Made me laugh.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#70

Post by cmenge »

bradleyjg wrote: post #49
cmenge wrote: post #39

After my luggage went missing for the first time recently, my key takeaways are: - If at all possible, avoid checked luggage - it's overpriced, slow and unreliable. No news to pro travellers I guess - Luggage reimbursement is capped at a relatively low figure that hasn't increased in decades (sources vary, jurisdiction unclear when international which just adds to the point). In any case, if you're traveling with a f…

The whole process seems increasingly stupid to me. A lot of conveyor belts, tracking systems etc. just to get a bag that I can carry by my own, all because the space in the overhead compartments is limited - manufacturers are working on larger compartments recently On the contrary. Increasingly humongous bags being wrestled into giant compartments makes boarding and deplaning a stressful and lengthy process. I totall…

You got a point there. Maybe I'm more annoyed by the implementation (cost, lack of reliability, absurd waiting times) rather than the idea itself.
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